Photos

All the stories from Tokyo 1964

Fencing The history of the men’s foil event suggested that the winner would come from France or Italy, perhaps Hungary or the Soviet Union. Few would have suggested that it would be the Polish flag th...

Fencing The men’s epee had a dramatic final between Grigory Kriss, of the Soviet Union, and Great Britain’s Henry Hoskyns, two athletes whose paths to the Olympic Games were a complete contrast.
Kris...

Volleyball This was the first time volleyball had been included in the Olympic programme, and it was keenly anticipated by the home supporters. The Japanese men took bronze, behind the dominant Soviet...

About Tokyo 1964

First in AsiaThe 1964 Tokyo Games were the first to be held in Asia. The carrier of the flame, Yoshinori Sakai, was chosen because he was born on 6 August 1945, the day the atomic bomb exploded in Hiroshima, in homage to the victims and as a call for world peace.

Evolving technologyA cinder running track was used for the last time in the athletics events, whilst a fibreglass pole was used for the first time in the pole vaulting competition. The Tokyo Games was also the last occasion that hand timing by stopwatch was used for official timing.

Memorable championsAbebe Bikila of Ethiopia became the first athlete to win the marathon twice, whilst Soviet gymnast Larysa Latynina brought her career medal total to an incredible 18. It also proved fourth time lucky for Greco-Roman wrestler Imre Polyak, who finally won gold after finishing second in the same division at the previous three Olympic Games.

Olympic spiritThe first official Fair Play Trophy for setting an outstanding example of sportsmanship was awarded to Swedish yachtsmen Lars Gunnar Käll and Stig Lennart Käll. The Swedes gave up their race to come to the aid of two other competitors whose boat had sunk.

Homage and symbolismThe carrier of the flame, Yoshinori Sakai, was chosen because he was born on 6 August 1945, the day the atomic bomb exploded in Hiroshima, in homage to the victims and as a call for peace in the world.

Fair play rewardedSwedish yachtsmen Lars Gunnar Käll and Stig Lennart Käll were the first recipients of the Tokyo Trophy for setting an outstanding example of sportsmanship when they gave up their race to save the life of a fellow competitor.

Honour to JapanJapan wanted to show the world its talent for organisation. It success earned it three awards from the International Olympic Committee- the Olympic Cup, the Bonacossa Trophy and the "Diploma of Merit".

The end of a type of running trackA cinder running track was used for the last time in the athletics events.

The first time in AsiaIt was the first time the Olympic Games were given to an Asian country.

New on the programmeAppearance of two new sports- judo (men) and volleyball (men and women).

A team sport for womenThe first appearance of a team sport for women- volleyball

An innovation in pole vaultingThe first time a fibreglass pole was used in the polevaulting competition.

Ceremonies

Official opening of the Games by: The Emperor Hirohito

Lighting the Olympic Flame by: Yoshinori Sakaï, a student born on 6 August 1945, the day the atomic bomb exploded in Hiroshima

Olympic Oath by: Takashi Ono (artistic gymnastics)

Official Oath by: The officials' oath at an Olympic Summer Games was first sworn in 1972 in Munich.

It is composed of the Olympic rings superimposed on the emblem of the Japanese national flag, representing the rising sun. Having examined a large number of proposals, the Games Organising Committee chose the design submitted by Yusaku Kamekura which was subsequently accepted as the official emblem of the Games.

On the obverse, the traditional goddess of victory, holding a palm in her left hand and a winner’s crown in her right. A design used since the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, created by Florentine artist Giuseppe Cassioli (ITA -1865-1942) and chosen after a competition organised by the International Olympic Committee in 1921.

For these Games, the picture of victory is accompanied by the specific inscription: "XVIII OLYMPIAD TOKYO 1964". On the reverse, an Olympic champion carried in triumph by the crowd, with the Olympic stadium in the background.

N.B: From 1928 to 1968, the medals for the Summer Games were identical. The Organising Committee for the Games in Munich in 1972 broke new ground by having a different reverse which was designed by a Bauhaus representative, Gerhard Marcks.

It recalls the official emblem, composed of the Olympic rings superimposed on the emblem of the Japanese national flag, representing the rising sun. There was a total of four official posters, all designed by Yusaku Kamekura. They were all made by photoengraving using several colours, highlighting the technology of the Japanese printing industry. The posters themselves received a number of prizes for their excellence, including the Milan Prize for poster graphics. 100,000 copies were made.

“The games of the XVIII Olympiad, Tokyo 1964: the official report of the Organizing Committee” was published in 1966 in three languages, French (for the first time since Amsterdam 1928), English and Japanese. It was composed of two volumes.